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| 17/05/2008 First closed Session of the Lebanese national dialogue conference in Qatar headed by Qatari Prime Minister adjourned on Saturday away from media presence. The feuding parties agreed on a quartet commission including two persons from each side to discuss the new electoral law.
Al-Manar TV reporter to Doha reported that "Ruling bloc leaders are uplifting political ceiling when insisting on raising the resistance arms issue", refuting what have been agreed on by the Arab initiative that the ruling bloc had sought to implement one point at a time. "Resistance arms issue would be tackled in order to retain trust between both sides", MP Botros Harb, member of the ruling bloc, said. But an opposition source ruled out discussing this issue at this stage and stressed on resuming the main points agreed on previously (forming a national unity government and endorsing a new electoral law for next year's elections).
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani formally opened the national dialogue conference on Friday between rival Lebanese leaders assuring them that "the task ahead of you is a great and difficult one". The Emir then adjourned the meeting until the first round of talks which wrapped up on Saturday.
"I hope that you reach an agreement to avert dangerous consequences [in] hard times that threaten a country which we are all demanded to maintain and protect", Al-Thani said at the opening session.
Qatar invited the Lebanese loyalty and opposition leaders to Doha for talks after Arab mediators reached a deal to end the Lebanese crisis that has paralyzed government for 18 months and left Lebanon without a president since November. Both sides have already agreed on Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as a consensus candidate to head the state.
"We hope that we will finish what we have started. I'm optimistic," said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
PARTICIPANTS FROM OPPOSITION, LOYALTY SIDES
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun, and Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad, are among the opposition delegates.
Fouad Siniora, Head of the un-constitutional government, Saad al-Hariri, who leads the ruling bloc in parliament, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Phalanges Party leader Amin Gemayel and head of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblatt, are among those from the loyalty bloc who are attending the talks.
The Doha talk also joined heads of Arab countries' delegates representing Qatar, Djibouti, Oman, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, the UAE, Yemen, and Bahrain. | 
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